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BRANSON -- This entertainment mecca in the middle of the Ozark Mountains is home to 10,520 permanent residents, with another 8 million visitors last year. There are more than 100 shows, featuring hundreds of performers, including about 300 animals.

From ducks and goats on Noah's Ark to fierce tigers on magicians' stages, all those animals must be permitted, licensed and tagged.

"Branson's unique as far as permitting," says Eric Hansen, one of three Taney County Health Department animal control officers tasked with keeping up with all those animals.

Hansen has taken training from the National Animal Control Association, the University of Missouri Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and more. It's not unusual that the training will use Branson among its examples.

For the latest animal act to arrive in Branson, the city's "unique" and in-depth animal-control ordinances have proved to be a challenge.

For Hansen -- who says the Fercos Brothers Untamed Illusions at the Branson Mall is the first cat show he has permitted from start to finish -- it has been a learning experience.

Fercos Brothers

Visitors can walk outside in back of the Branson Mall theater to see three tigers, two panthers and one lion that perform in the show. Tony and Ferdinand Fercos talk about their cats as the felines pace in their large cages, set well over an arm's distance from a 3-foot high spectator fence -- keeping everyone at a safe distance.

The cages are built of welded 8-gauge fencing wire, with sloped concrete floors that can be easily hosed off into a sewer system built especially for the cats.

Behind the viewing cages is another large cage and a grassy exercise area, all surrounded by another 8-foot-tall, 8-gauge covered fence.

The cages, fencing, floors and sewers are only part of standards required to keep the large cats in the city.

In addition, the theater and the act had to get 14 permits. It took about six weeks to meet all the requirements, says Brad Petersen, owner of the Branson Mall.

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"It's been a lot," adds Hansen. "For three weeks we spent every day working to make sure they had all the permits ... met all the codes. We do require quite a bit. We're unique, one of a kind."

Tony and Ferdinand Fercos have been working with big cats for 32 years, mostly in Las Vegas, but with performances around the world. Branson has the strictest requirements, they say.

All that effort may be worth it if the Fercos Brothers decide to settle in the Ozarks, a move they are considering. If they do, they will look for acreage where they can live and keep their cats.

"No more packing and unpacking," Tony says.

Branson does not allow the big cats to spend the night in town unless they are housed indoors in an air-conditioned facility that meets city standards. So, the Fercos Brothers cats sleep in a warehouse in Hollister, which is in the process of initiating its own large-animal ordinance.

'Grandfathered in'

Some of the Branson shows have been "grandfathered in" so they do not have to meet the same standards unless changes are made, but new shows are held to them.

The Sight & Sound Theatre, where "Noah's Ark the Musical" opened in 2007, is home to an array of animals. While none of the live animals are fierce cats, they still must meet city, county, state and federal requirements

When the theater was built it included 21,760 square feet of living area for the 150 animals that perform on the stage -- along with animatronic lions and tigers. There is also a 11,550-square-foot training area and a several-acre exercise area outside the theater.

"We provide the best care possible for all of our animals and receive regular, unscheduled inspections by the USDA, city of Branson and county animal controller and are in compliance with all regulations," says Kate Renfrow, spokeswoman for the theater.

While Sight & Sound built its theater to standards, retrofitting the Branson Mall theater provided some challenges.

Petersen won't say how much it cost to accomplish that, but he admits that the special sewer system alone cost "more than my house in Springfield."

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It's all about keeping the animals and the people safe, says Hansen.

In addition to USDA -- and Missouri Department of Conservation permits if the animal is native to the state -- Branson requires a health permit that must be updated every 30 days, a copy of any required test results, and all animals must be identified with an ear tag, tattoo, microchip or other appropriate tagging.

Keeping the animals safely caged is important, but so is getting them out in case of an emergency, so a detailed plan of the facility, as well as a veterinary contact must be provided to the health department.

"We have to have a disaster plan for animals," says Hansen. "If something happens, we want to know what's here, who is responsible for the animals."

It's all worth it when the curtain goes up and the big cats come on stage, say Larry and Phyllis Hirms of Lincoln, Neb., who have been to the show more than once and love visiting the cats out back.

"It's a great show," says Larry. "You can tell this is a first-class Vegas act."